[Harrier-303: Cidra] It begins as it began yesterday, and the day before, like some unwanted case of de ja vu. Quiet CAP in a quiet sector of space is broken by a pair of Raider contacts lighting up red on the DRADIS of the Raptor and Viper pair on patrol. Alert fighters are ordered to launch and are getting in the air now. CIC has ordered the ship's jump engines spun up, but they'll need time to prepare the Fleet's escape. Minutes that feel both insanely compressed and elongated by the scramble of combat. Minutes that mean life and death for those in the air. It begins as it always begins.

[BlackKnight-309: Pallas] Pallas kicks it into gear the moment the contacts come up. Time to rock and roll. Killing thrust, he drops farther back from Psyche to get a good look at the Raider coming toward her. He's playing it a little safer tonight, since his hand is still injured from last night's engagement.

[TAC3] "Bootstrap" Trask says, "Flight, Bootstrap. You know the drill. Let's take out the trash before the other guests arrive."

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Bootstrap, Toast. Copy. Getting in the air now with the Alert fighters. Clear to engage. We shall join you shortly."

[Harrier-303: Cidra] And Cidra is doing precisely that. Harrier outbound from Cerberus, Solstice in her backseat, toward the fray. A very small fray at the moment. Just a pair of Raiders. But it hasn't stayed that way the last couple go-rounds. "Bringing us out, Shakes. Keep an eye on the DRADIS. There may be more coming."

[BlackKnight-308: Wade] Wade has been waiting along with the other alert Pilots, just waiting to see if the Cylons appear once again and it seems that the tin cans don't want to disappoint. When the Alert Vipers are ordered to launch, Wade makes a run towards one of the launching tubes, he jumps in number 308 and runs a quick checkup just to make sure that all systems are green. He gives the LSO a thumbs up and off he goes, launching into space. Immediately, he starts looking for the his wingmate for this run.

[Harrier-670: Leyla]
As soon as the contacts are reported, Leyla adjusts non-Bertha's course. Not flying in her ship makes her not happy. "Bringing us in on an intercept course, Boots." Not that the man couldn't figure that out, but hey. Never let it be said she doesn't attempt to communicate.

[TAC3] "Drips" Wade says, "Decoy, Drips. Let's form up and help the group. They just keep coming, don't they…"

[BlackKnight-312: Devlin] Devlin launches with the other alert vipers, out of the tubes just after Harrier-303 and just before Wade. He speeds towards the CAP and its attackers, forming up on Wade's wing as they go.

[TAC3] "Decoy" Devlin says, "Drips, Decoy. Copy that, on your six. Let's get out there quick before more of them show up."

[BlackKnight-853: Psyche] It's a dance with very familiar steps, and even with her left side screaming for morpha, Psyche does them fairly well. She jinks left and right, trying to make herself a less appealing target for the bogey on her tail, though her plane's trajectory slowly resolves into a straight arrow, intent on piercing the Raider dogging Trask and Leyla's Raptor through the heart. Or whatever fleshy bits it's got in there.

[Harrier-303: Cidra] The Raiders are ready to meet the Colonials as they converge, guns blazing. The hits are glancing on the first go. the first go. The Raiders are unscratched and this is far from done.

[TAC3] "Pens" Bran says, "Flight, Pens. We'll be the ones fashionably late this time around."

[BlackKnight-309: Pallas] Pallas' shots go wide. The cautious game is not one he plays well. When he sees Psyche's bird get struck, he punches it forward and gives chase, though his flying's not as precise as it usually is.

[BlackKnight-312: Devlin] Devlin eases off the full burn as they come up on the CAP, throttling back to Wade's wing. The LT picks their target, and his ENS wingman follows suit, getting into position to provide covering fire for the Raptor.

[BlackKnight-308: Wade] Getting closer and closer, Wade can better see the targets at hand. He spots that one in particular is attacking the Raptor Sweetpea and Trask are in. The man pushes the throttle to gain more speed and the engines flare with a burst of power. Speeeeeed. He unlocks the weapon system and gets ready to fire.

[Harrier-670: Trask] "They're gettin' sloppy," Trask remarks from the backseat. "I'm actually awake, this time." He alerts the Raiders of that fact by jamming the pair. One of them pitches a fit, however, and lands a solid hit on the Raptor. The ECM console starts to flicker. "Haters gotta hate," he snerks then tells his pilot, "Just a reminder: it makes my job easier if my equipment doesn't get damaged. Just sayin'. Switch to evasive maneuvers 'cuz we're about to get more company."

[BlackKnight-853: Psyche] "Frakking syphilitic son of a whore," Psyche hisses as her shots fly wide and — insult to injury — she takes some glancing fire, to boot. She rolls her Viper, flipping end over end and reversing course with barely a moment's loss of momentum, coming 'round hard to lay down fire once again.

[TAC3] "Bubbles" Psyche says, "Spiral, Bubbles. My grandmother hits harder than that, no worries. But given a stationary target and an infinite scale of time, even granny could pound something to paste. Just sayin'."

[TAC3] "Bootstrap" Trask quips, "Toast, Bootstrap. Hope you brought your glowsticks. This is about to turn into a rave." If history repeats itself, which he bets it will.

[Harrier-670: Leyla] "We need to figure out how they're tracking us." Leyla clearly doesn't seem to be in the mood to trade quips with Kal, the little raptor momentarily shaken off it's course by the hit. But, orders are orders, an she switches to evasive manuevers, attempting to make the most of the pilots working around her, while still giving Trask a chance to do his job.

[Harrier-303: Solstice] Manning the back screens, her head dips to look at three more blips on her her DRADIS. She gives pause and then turns to her pilot. "We have three more contacts, unidentified at this point but they are in formation to join the two Raiders already engaged." Sol busies herself with getting a clearer read out as she adjusts frequencies. She shifts, giving a shake of her head as if it is still unclear.

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Cerberus, Toast. Confirmed. My ECO just reported three additional contacts as well. No ID at present but presume we have more company."

[Harrier-304: Evandreus] Evan keeps easy formation with Cidra as the alert forces roll up to the battleground— or— battle— space, only letting his course list slightly to her starboard and south of carom to orient the pair of them along the broadest section of the fighting so far.

[Harrier-670: Trask] "Not that I'm disagreein' with you," Trask remarks to his pilot, "but now's not really the time to hypothesize."

[Harrier-304: Bran] "I'm under the distinct impression that babies are tougher than these bits of tin," but Bran is still trying to concentrate the best he can on the readouts scrolling about his DRADIS. He opens his mouth and then inclines his head, reaching forward to physically count with a finger. "I've got too much interference on my end."

<COMBAT> Harrier-670 has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Trask has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Leyla has been KO'd!

<COMBAT> Raider-5525q has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Raider1 has been KO'd!

<COMBAT> Trask spends a luck point to keep fighting!
<COMBAT> Leyla spends a luck point to keep fighting!

[TAC3] "Decoy" Devlin says, "Drips, Decoy. I guess my invisibility's worn off, two of these new ones are on my tail."

[Harrier-670: Leyla] Things are not looking up, in Sweet Pea's world, as her raptor seems to decide it would like to start exploding all around her. But she's not down yet, even if the controls are fighting her at every turn, "Think you can manage some repairs, or do you want a fresh bird?"

[TAC3] "Bunny" Evandreus says, "Toast, this is Bunny, we're with you, here. Should we move in to form up on Boots and get out jamming suites in symph?"

[TAC3] "Drips" Wade says, "Decoy, Drips. Nice shooting out there. I see them, let's take one of yours away shall we? I'm going to try and shake one that's following me."

[BlackKnight-309: Pallas] Pallas rolls to the right of the Raider he's chasing, continuing to fire shots that go mostly wide. A few hits land on the Raider's right wing - not enough to do any serious damage, but maybe enough to distract it from attacking Psyche. Encouraged by the draw of blood - or engine fuel, anyway - he reverts back to his old flight pattern and engages for the kill.

[Harrier-303: Cidra] Three more incoming, and the first pair don't seem eager to get out of the fight yet. They open up their guns again, the Cylons scoring a nasty hit on Leyla's battered Harrier. But it's blown away clean by Viper KEWs for its trouble. The Alert fighters have converged now, to press the Cylons as the Fleet spools up her jump engines. Still minutes to go.

[Harrier-670: Trask] Yeah. That seriously sucked. "No time." To swap, presumably. Like the seasoned pro that he is, Boots is breaking out the tools.

[BlackKnight-308: Wade] Wade speeds towards Leyla's Raptor, he opens fire against the Raider that is attacking her and hits the mark, he also sees Devlin hitting target. The Raider itself goes out with a bang but however, it gets to hit the Raptor. "Frakking piece of…." mutters the man, changing to evasive maneuvers now and switching to a new Raider, one after his wingmate.

[TAC3] "Bootstrap" Trask says, "Flight, Bootstrap. We took a bad hit and would really appreciate some cover while we make some quick fixes, plzkthx."

[TAC3] "Drips" Wade says, "Boostrap, Drips. Sorry about that, we got that Raider that was on your tail but not before it got you."

[BlackKnight-312: Devlin] Devlin gets a shot in on one of the raiders attacking Leyla and Trask, but only manages to wing it, the shot not sufficient to prevent it from nailing the Raptor. That it blows up shortly afterwards is some consolation, at least. And then the newest batch are in range, and homing straight in on the ensign, who takes evasive manuevers to try to shake one and engage the other.

[TAC3] "Bootstrap" Trask says, "You can make it up to us, Drips, by blasting 'em to bit before they can KEW. Bootstrap out."

[Harrier-303: Cidra] "Good show, Shakes," Cidra says to her ECO, as to the jamming efforts, though her eyes never leave the starfield. "I am taking us in closer to cover Boots and Sweet Pea's vector. Do hold on." And she does so, moving her Raptor closer to Leyla's Harrier.

[TAC3] "Decoy" Devlin says, "Yeah, yeah. So long as you keep it from getting shot again I'll call that a deal."

[Harrier-670: Leyla] "I knew I should have worn orange today." Leyla's hands move this way and that, sometimes controlling the raptor, sometimes trying to make what repairs she can from where she's sitting, "We may need to pull out of the fight and give me both hands free for longer than five seconds, if I can't manage this."

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Bunny, Toast. Indeed. Let us go to it."

[Harrier-303: Solstice] "Just doing my job, Toast." Sol says in response. As she is warned, the ECO plants her feet and spreads em a little to get a good base to support herself in her seat. She begins centralizing her efforts on the new targets as the first Raider is made into stardust.

[TAC3] "Bunny" Evandreus says, "Toast, Bunny, I hear you. Moving in. Sweet Pea, this is Bunny, we're coming into formation with you to make sure you guys get optimal ECM coverage while you stitch up."

[TAC3] "Bubbles" Psyche laughs, even as she bears down on one of the Raiders pursuing Decoy, lining up her shot. "Decoy, Spiral — Bubbles. I heart you both super hard. That is all."

[Harrier-304: Bran] Electronic countermeasures is as electronic countermeasures does, and they happen to be Bran's particularly specialty. The ECO spools up some basic electronic warfare against the incoming Raiders. "I'm suppressing the best I can here."

[Harrier-670: Trask] "Do what'cha gotta do, Aydin," is Kal's simple reply. And while she attempts a bit of juryrigging, he works what mojo he can in the backseat.

[BlackKnight-308: Wade] Wade rolls around with his Viper while the Cylon Raider tries to take a shot at him. Lucky for Wade, the Raider fails in his attack but, unlucky for Decoy, Wade fails as well, not being able to make contact with his target "Gods damn it…" says the man, narrowing his eyes.

[TAC3] "Sweet Pea" Leyla says, "Thank you, Bunny. I'm doing the best I can to keep us together. Will let you know how we maage."

[BlackKnight-309: Pallas] Pallas, true to his callsign, spirals madly in pursuit of his target. The Raider comes into perfect alignment with his sights for a split second - just long enough for him to blast it to pieces. He then falls in beside and behind Psyche to give her some support.

[TAC3] "Bunny" Evandreus says, "We've got your back, Lala love."

[Harrier-303: Cidra] Perhaps those jammers are doing their jobs, because the Cylon guns can't seem to target anything but empty space that go'round. Still, they sweep around for another pass. And, as has happened before over the past couple days, they aren't alone. The lights on all DRADIS systems start pinging bright red and more and more contacts appear. All around the Fleet, dozens of them this time, though not yet within range to bring their guns to bear. Still, they will be shortly. Vipers from the Areion and the Cerberus' other squadrons are covering the various sectors around the Fleet now. It's all hands on deck, as the swarm it seems is incoming.

[TAC3] "Drips" Wade says, "Decoy, Drips. I see the frakkers moving after you, I'll try to get a hit here."

[TAC3] "Bubbles" Psyche's laughter is jubilant this time, the descrescendo of a celebratory whoop. "Spiral, Bubbles! Can I be you when I grow up? That was schweet!"

[TAC3] "Decoy" Devlin says, "Bubbles, Decoy. Please, for the love of gods do not become Spiral."

[Harrier-670: Leyla] "Your suite should be back up and running, Boots." About her own dodgy controls, Leyla makes no comment, she simply gets back to the business of flying while she still can.

[BlackKnight-312: Devlin] Devlin dips, dives, and dodges, managing to evade the KEW fire aimed his way this time. Unfortunately his own shots miss as well, thrown off by his focus on avoiding fire. He glances down at DRADIS and grumbles a curse, but is quickly back to work at trying not to get shot.

[Harrier-303: Solstice] Cursing softly from her seat as she grabs at the edge of her station, Shakes sighs and shakes her head. She realigns, meaning to encompass the new Raiders into her sweep. "Damn toasters.." She says and lifts her head up to look at her pilot, "No offense, Toast." She says and is a flurry over her screen, recalibrating with each new turn and trajectory they take.

[TAC3] "Spiral" Pallas says, "Decoy, Spiral. Coming after one on you. Bubbles, you might not be able to be me, but I like to think you've got a part of me inside you."

[Harrier-303: Cidra] "No offense taken, Shakes. My callsign means toasting of quite a different variety," is Cidra's dry little reply as she continues to weave her Raptor around the fray, staying in formation with Bunny's bus with practiced ease.

[Harrier-670: Trask] One out of four suppressed? Oh. Frak. No. Trask's face scrunches with vexation and he lets out a small growl. The console screen flickers, coming in sharper than it has been since the Raptor was hit, followed by Leyla's pronouncement. "Thaaaaank you, Sweet Pea," is quasi-sing-sung. Time to see if the improvements are more than cosmetic.

[TAC3] "Decoy" Devlin says, "Spiral, Bubbles — Decoy. Thanks for the help, guys. But I think I might've just thrown up a little at that image."

[TAC3] "Bootstrap" Trask says, "Bun-Bun, I heart you more than Bubbles hearts Decoy and Spiral. Plus, no vomit-inducing mental images."

[TAC3] "Drips" Wade says, "Dear lords…"

[Harrier-303: Cidra] Cidra has absolutely comment on the various scarring mental images the comms are inducing. Whatever keeps one in the killing spirit.

[Harrier-304: Evandreus] Evan hovers there, as well, keeping at a fixed position relative to Cidra's position in order to better let the jamming suites overlap with one another. It might look peaceful from the exterior— a fixed boundary stone, ancient and half-covered in moss, half-worn by the rain in the corner of a vast rolling field, untouched for ages except by the fingers of a slowly rolling sun. But inside, Evan's body is tensed forward in the seat, his shoulders close to cramping as he sits, anxious, programming and reprogramming evasive manuevers anytime one of the raiders gets too close. "Heh," he does give a half-laugh at Boots' message.

[TAC3] "Drips" Wade says, "Decoy, Drips. I got a hit on one of your attackers but wasn't enough. The dinged my wing a little bit, I'm still alive. I see Toast and Shakes have some company, let"

[Harrier-303: Cidra] One down, but one is replaced by two more as the latest flurry of Raiders joins the fray, pressing the Fleet on all sides. The swarm has come.

[TAC3] "Drips" Wade says, "Decoy, Drips. I got a hit on one of your attackers but wasn't enough. The dinged my wing a little bit, I'm still alive. I see Toast and Shakes have some company, let's provide some cover fire for them."

[TAC3] Hydra says, "Flight, Cerberus. Two minutes to jump. Hold them off just a little longer. We'll keep the barn doors open for you."

[Harrier-303: Solstice] "Toast we got company" Says the ECO. Sol does her best to try to supress the fire and buy her and her pilot some time.

[Harrier-303: Cidra] "So we do." Cidra's tone shows no outward sign of nerves as the Raiders taken an interest in her. "Taking evasive maneuvers. Hold tight." And so she does, going into a fast, weaving flight pattern that takes her out of synch with Evandreus' Raptor. She can't move the thing as sleek as the Vipers can dance, but she does her best with the bus as she can.

[Harrier-670: Trask] One out of three? That does not improve Trask's mood. Frowning, he comments, "I think somethin's fried."

[BlackKnight-308: Wade] Wade decides to stop being evasive a little bite to improve his targeting. It works well for him because he gets a hit but it's not enough to bring it down. On the downside, he gets hit as well. The cockpit shakes a little because the wing got hit and he curses under his breath, making a violent turn not to assist Toast and Shakes.

[BlackKnight-309: Pallas] Pallas weaves in and out, reacting to Psyche's lead and giving support fire to keep the Raider contained. Once she gets the kill, he falls back again. Cylons coming after his wingman? He's not going to stand for that. Even if there's one on him. Someone else can take care of that.

[BlackKnight-312: Devlin] Devlin takes one shot that pings off his wing, armor deflecting it before it can cause any real damage. With the help of the cover provided by others he manages to avoid the rest of the attack, and forms back up on Wade's wing before breaking away slightly to engage one of the raiders circling the Cidra and Solstice's raptor.

[BlackKnight-853: Psyche] Freed from her bogey by Spiral's assist, Psyche throttles forward like a silver-grey streak of death, breaking out of her erratic evasion patterns and into a trajectory designed solely to kill. The Raider in her sights vaporizes in a cloud of sparks and fiery gas, but there's another on her almost immediately, intent on avenging its brother.

[Harrier-304: Evandreus] Evan can see Cidra's boat go into evasives, and though he can't quite match her move for move, he does a decent imitation of it, shadowing a truncated ellipse of her trajectory in order to keep the jamming suites as synchronized as possible.

[Harrier-670: Trask] "It was more a statement of the obvious," the SL drily notes. "I like to express that from time to time, for shits an' giggles." Compensating as best as he can, nothing further is added.

[Harrier-670: Trask] "Yup. Definitely fried," Trask mutters with a frown, then jumps on the comms.

[Harrier-670: Leyla] "Either we're getting worse, or these raiders are getting better. More armor, something. They shouldn't be this hard to kill."

[Harrier-303: Cidra] The efforts of the jamming suites appear to be doing their part to keep the Cylons off their game, as the toasters can't hit the broadside of a Raptor. Not that that stops them from trying. One of the Raiders who are pursuing Toast and shakes veers off toward Devlin, though the Raptor doesn't lose its other - now quite wounded - friend. And the clock ticks down. A minute and thirty before the Fleet can jump. Just minutes to go, before they'll receive that blessed RTB. But not just yet. Not just yet, and seconds are measured in KEW fire out here.

[BlackKnight-308: Wade] Wade speeds towards Cidra's Raptor and fires angry KEW at the attacking Raider, he hits but he doesn't do a lot of visible damage. He sees that Decoy's attack hits true and it's pretty strong. is not a valid participant.

[Harrier-670: Leyla] Leyla continues evasive maneuvers, adjusting her flight to attempt to provide the maximum coverage for her ECO that she can. And if it brings her into a position to get between the raiders and Cidra, well, one can only hope. Toast, in this instance, is not what's for dinner.

[Harrier-303: Solstice] "Slick, Toast.." Calls Shakes from the back. Faint smile touches the usually placid face. The woman goes back to her work, letting her upper body flow with the bobbing of the bus. Sol continues to keep her sweep up, firing up a new frequency for suppression. "You keep it up like that and I am not going to want to fly with anyone else."

[BlackKnight-309: Pallas] Pallas is trying to hit his target, who's trying to hit Psyche, who's trying to attack another Raider… around and around they go, a comical string of fighters trying to kill each other but shooting wide all the while. And, try as he will, he just can't shake the one on him - not while trying to keep his wingman covered. Someone in this chain better start landing some shots.

[TAC3] "Drips" Wade says, "Decoy, Drips. Nice shooting out there. One is paying a lot of attention to yoiu, take evasive maneuvers."

[BlackKnight-312: Devlin] Devlin manages a decent shot at one of Toast's attackers, but the expected explosion doesn't come. "Come on, frak!" he grumbles, and then spots his pursuer a second before it's mentioned, taking evasive manuevers again as he gets back on the comm.

[TAC3] "Decoy" Devlin says, "Drips, Decoy. I see it."

[Harrier-303: Cidra] "I suspect you are the one who is being slick back there," Cidra says to Solstice, continuing her deft weaving, though she does level out a bit as Wade and Devlin give her one less pursuer. To make it a little easier for Bunny to keep in synch with her. "Drowning the toasters in electronics is a game I do not mind playing."

[Harrier-304: Bran] From his perspective, in looking up and over to the frakstorm that is the skirmish outside their Raptor, it's dizzying and as such Bran returns to his consoles while steadying himself. "At least there's nothing to worry over. I've got them covered up nice and tight, Bun." It's even better with Evan being ace in the piloting category. And too, in spite of his casual tone of voice, the man's tense while he works his magic.

[TAC3] "Bootstrap" Trask says, "Flight, Bootstrap. Be advised that our ECM suite is pretty much trashed. We've done what we can but a patch job just ain't gonna cut it. I have a visual on one of the disabled Raiders. Looks fairly intact. Gonna attempt to reel it in an' RTB. Maybe dissecting the thing will give us some answers. Over."

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Bootstrap, Toast. Copy. Bring it home. From the footage we have gathered, these are slightly unusual in configuration. Sweet Pea, permission to move in to tow."

<FS3> <FS3> Leyla rolls Raptors: Good Success.

[Harrier-670: Leyla] Sweet Pea and Boots have not had the best of luck on this outing. But there's something to be said for Taurian pride. The sort of pride that doesn't let you slink away from the battlefield, but instead, demands that you saunter off in style. Which Not-Bertha seems intent to do, despite the raider-spawned damage to the ship, Leyla ducking and weaving in a dance even Spiral couldn't match, well, except in speed, maybe, as the raptor bounces around, avoiding the passing ships, before it takes a complete 360 degree flip, tow cable released in the same movement. Capture! Another 180 degrees and the pilot and SL are heading back the way they came. A little heavy on the back end, but then they're used to that.

<COMBAT> Blackknight-309 has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Pallas has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Raider-6149 has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Raider4 has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Raider-3980u has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Raider5 has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Raider-0697u has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Raider6 has been KO'd!

[Harrier-303: Solstice] "Toast they just keep coming. Three more on screen an closing. Don't think they like us plundering." Remarks the ECO. Shakes pinpoints their newest arrivals and begins to spread out the jammers once more.

[Harrier-670: Leyla] "I do what I can with what I have to work with." Also a smile. At least she managed to redeem herself a hair.

[Harrier-670: Trask] "You do more with less than most people do with more," is faintly smirked. Black Country, represent!

[TAC3] "Decoy" Devlin says, "Drips, Decoy. Looks like they decided they like you better. Engaging one of the ones on your tail. Bubbles, you've got one too, heads up."

[BlackKnight-308: Wade] Wade manages to get a hit on that Raider that was after Cidra's Raptor, he sees that thing go boom, some stuff looking like guts flying all over. "That's not….that's pretty bad…."

[BlackKnight-309: Pallas] Pallas lands a decent hit - once again, on the wing - before taking some shots himself. His Viper spins, banking hard away from the chase and flying aimlessly in a random direction. Even before his comm comes through, it's clear that he's struggling to maintain control. It's not pretty, but he does manage to get it back into the fight, even if the bird does look a bit unsteady. He's going in for one last kill before he has to head back in.

[BlackKnight-853: Psyche] Having driven one of the Raiders off Toast, Psyche comes around to assist her wingman. Her aim is lethal, but the Raider on Spiral is equally deadly, and gets its shots off an instant before her KEWs blow it to smithereens.

[TAC3] "Drips" Wade says, "Decoy, Drips. I see them, I'll shake it a little bit see if I can get them off me."

[Harrier-303: Cidra] The Raiders scatter like flurrying birds, but they're still birds of prey and promptly converge and regroup for another pass at the Knights and their Harrier shields. Thirty seconds tick down with agonizing slowness as the Fighting Fourteenth dances among the swarm.

[Harrier-670: Leyla] "Thank you. Think you can give it a last go before we head in?" If they're close enough to still provide jamming support that is.

[BlackKnight-312: Devlin] There isn't a ton of room to manuever, in the swarm, but freed from the need to take evasive manuevers for at least a moment, Devlin puts on some speed, aiming straight for one of the raiders on Wade's tail, unleashing a burst of KEW at it.

[Harrier-304: Evandreus] Evandreus does his best to keep in step with Cidra, waiting on the call to RTB, but holding his ground. Holding. "Come on, come on," he murmurs. Where's the call? The swarm is making him a little anxious, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up in some sort of prey's instinct even is he doesn't see the bogey en route.

[Harrier-670: Leyla] "Oh right, now you feel it's the right time to make a joke about my repair skills. See if I ever let you bring home another toy again." Not that Leyla seems terribly upset. No, she's just chugging along back to the barn.

[Harrier-670: Trask] With a cheeky, little smile, the ECO informs his pilot, "Any time is the right time."

[Harrier-303: Solstice] Keeping a close eye on DRADIS, she nods and looks up towards Toast. "Ready to go. Got the next jammer ready." She says and sends out the scrambled signal to frak with the toasters outside.

[BlackKnight-308: Wade] Wade triiiies to dodge all the incoming fire, but maaan, it's a mess out there. He gets hit twice, directly on the body of the bird. The cockpit shakes violently and all the lights go out, there's a little explosion visible inside the cockpit, for those looking. "Frak!" screams the man as he covers himself to avoid being blinded by sparks and…crap. Afterwards, he starts pretty much hitting the fire outburst with open palms and since it's nothing that bad, they calm down a little. He runs a quick check and the engines take the startup process, coming to almost full power but not quiet.

[TAC3] "Decoy" Devlin says, "Drips, Decoy. You alright in there?"

[Harrier-303: Cidra] Cidra's Raptor turns in a rapid arc to head back Cerberus-way. There are still a good man Raiders between them and home, however, so this won't be a quiet exit for anyone. Home through the swarm they go.

[BlackKnight-309: Pallas] Another kill for Pallas. He takes his wobbly bird around in a wide circle, unable to fly any tighter than that. His eventual goal is to form back up with Psyche and converge on the Raider she's chasing before heading back to Cerberus. Which will probably result in another crash landing the way his controls are responding.

[BlackKnight-312: Devlin] Devlin tags another of the raiders but still can't quite seem to turn a hit into a kill, tonight. When Wade gets rocked he circles back around protectively, and succeeds in drawing one of the targets to himself, instead. With the RTB order given he heads in the direction of Cerberus, but backwards, keeping KEW directed at his pursuer.

<COMBAT> Raider-0930 has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Raider7 has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Raider-0668c has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Raider9 has been KO'd!

[Harrier-670: Leyla] While the last of the battle is spinning behind them, and the FTL drives are spinning, albeit hidden, ahead of them, Harrier-670, now with raider ornament, makes its way into the hangar, settling onto the flight deck with surprising grace. The dead raider…not so much. But at least there's need to worry that it'll need a trip to sickbay. And it is salvageable.

[BlackKnight-308: Wade] Wade manages to get a hit out of that Raider, but he doesn't even know where he actually hit. At least he is sure it was a Raider, right?! He turns around and speeds towards Cerberus. His systems are not dead yet, but when he lands and unlocks the Canopy, the Deck crew will see massive smoke coming from his cockpit.

[Harrier-303: Cidra] The Knights and Harriers cut like knives through the Raider-filled space between them and the battlestar as they bring their beaten birds home. The Praetorian and Corsair flash and jump outta here, followed in short order by the smaller FTL burst from the Elpis. The Areion and Cerberus linger only to collect their returning aerial forces, and then they'll also be getting the frak out.

[BlackKnight-312: Devlin] Devlin takes his last shot and manages to end on a high note, with Wade's assistance exploding their target into a hail of raider-bits. Time bought, he flips 180 to point towards home and legs it back into the hangar.

[BlackKnight-309: Pallas] Pallas tries to transmit a few times, but only manages to get static. So he resorts to signal lights, taking Wade's lead. Except instead of sending anything useful or informative, he signals: 'F-R-A-K Y-E-S B-I-T-C-H-E-S, E-A-T S-H-I-T.' He continues to flash this message repeatedly as he comes in way too hot toward Cerberus, veering so wildly that it's uncertain he'll actually make it to the landing bay instead of crashing into the side of the Battlestar. But he does make it - clipping a wing he comes in, starting a fire while skidding to a stop. Now that's how it's done.

[BlackKnight-853: Psyche] Psyche flies straight through the vapor she and Spiral reduce their target to, throttling a head in a showy dazzle of speed and executing a celebratory barrel roll. Woo!

[Harrier-303: Cidra] No barrel rolls from Cidra's Raptor as the CAG heads home, but she puts it down with relative ease. She managed to make it through the sortie without taking any hits, so she doesn't have any funky controls to contend with. "You did well out there," she says simply to Solstice as she puts it down. Not exactly effusive praise, but the CAG is not an effusive woman, so at least one knows she means such things.